![]() When you use a roller, at the very least you have to leave a gap at the bottom of the case for floor clearance, and that’s a dead giveaway, too. I’ve tried installing wheels and rollers on the bottoms of swinging bookcases, and they work okay, as long as the floor is a smooth, hard surface, and if there are no throw rugs, though sometimes the roller leaves a tell-tale track on the floor, especially over carpet. Swinging bookcases always sag a little, too. Besides, even a piano hinge is hard to hide in the trim on a swing-out case. I’ve seen carpenters use piano hinges, too, but then it’s tough to take the case off or adjust the hinge. Trust me, those never work, no matter how many of those little hinges you use, they always sag. I’ve also seen cabinet shops build these types of doors, using euro hinges. Besides, butt hinges only work on swing-in bookcases-there’s no way to hide them completely on a swing-out design. Plus, they require a lot of jamb clearance, which has never seemed right to me. ![]() And they always need some adjustment down the road. heavy-duty ball bearing hinges, and they work alright, though the hinges tend to sag a little when the case is really loaded down with books. I’ve seen and installed a lot of bookcase doors, many that swing on regular butt hinges. Maybe one day we’ll all be able to build one that’s perfect in every way. Hidden door bookcases aren’t easy to design or build, but they’re intriguing. If you notice any others, please let me know. In this article, I’ll point out a few of the mistakes I made so hopefully you won’t make them-and maybe I won’t make them again. After all, hidden bookcase doors are a lot more complicated than an ordinary door-there are a lot of variables, both in design and construction, especially on openings that have to swing out. Each time I build one, I learn something new. Without a doubt, I’ve never built a perfect pivot bookcase, but I’m getting a lot closer!Įven the bookcase in this article isn’t perfect. Of course, I mean something that no one else would notice, though some of you might. As a matter of fact, I can’t recall too many that didn’t have at least one minor mistake. Once the door was in place, I tested the opening many times and then secured the base with 4″ screws.Not every project I build comes out perfectly. Screwing in some wood blocks to the inside wall that would accept the top hinge bolt. Installation involved removing the closet door and trim. Due to the weight of the shelves and contents we added a 6 inch rubber wheel, installed a little bit high and hidden with fake books. Most commercial doors have steel frames and don’t need caster wheels. Adequate spacing was needed on the hinge side to just barely clear the door frame and still be covered by trim. It took a lot of measuring and testing to get it centered right. I used a lazy susan on some 2×4 blocks for the bottom and a long bolt for the top. One of the hardest parts was the hinge point. I made a template to help drill the holes all the correct width and height. There are five attached shelves and adjustable shelf holes drilled at the top. The door is a solid bookcase made from 3/4 smooth plywood and 1/2″ regular plywood for the back. I assume if you are building this project you have enough wood working skills to make a bookshelf and your sizing will vary so I won’t go into detail about that. The dimensions of the finished door came out to be 34″ wide, 77″ tall and 8″ deep. ![]() I begin by making a door frame to the exact measurements of my brothers closet. Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures of the build so I’ll explain it the best I can. ![]() Long Bolt and Washers – for top pivot point.If you have a secret room, what would you use it for?Ĭlick on any image to start lightbox display. Everything is customized and made from inexpensive materials you can easily buy in your local hardware store. The best part is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to build this project. And the bookshelf door still functions like any other bookshelf, able to hold your book collection. And if there’s enough room, you can turn it into a personal retreat, or use it as a panic room. You can use this hidden space for storage. You can turn your closet into a secret space by turning its door into a bookshelf. This project shows you how you can turn an ordinary closet into a secret storage area. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a secret place in your house. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a secret room? Unfortunately not all of us has that spare room we can turn into a hidden retreat. When is a door not a door? When you turn it into a bookshelf for extra storage space with a secret space behind it!
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